COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House approved a bill removing the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement ...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House approved a bill removing the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement ...

Gov. Nikki Haley says "it is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of" after the state House of Representatives approved a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds.

Haley said in a statement early Thursday that the measure "truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state." ...

As far as historical education for our schools, and for the public in general; I couldn't agree with you more. We learn about the flag from the 1865 accounts of the one that carried it in battle, Gen. Robert E. Lee:

... Riding “Traveller,” Lee was some miles from Lexington when an ex-Confederate stepped from his fenced yard to pay his respects to the general. At the corner of the fence a weathered battle flag drooped from a pole. The man seemed forlorn. He asked Lee what they were supposed to do in the wake of such devastation.

Lee looked at the flag and said: “First we take down that flag.” Then he turned Traveller toward Lexington and rode on.

In the years he was president of Washington College (which I learned only recently from Jonathan Horn's article entitled, “Even Lee Wanted the Flag Gone”), Lee directed that no Confederate flag or monument be displayed lest, as Lee said, the “sores of war” be kept open.

The massacre 22 days ago of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney and eight others inside Charleston's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church suddenly changed this dynamic, not only in South Carolina but around the nation.

"The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse," Haley said. "We will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place."

House Speaker John Boehner called for an “adult” debate over the display of the Confederate flag over a measure Republicans put forward to continue to permit its display at certain National Park Service-run cemeteries ...

... The governor said the way the victims welcomed the gunman into their Bible study, and the forgiveness survivors expressed when the suspect later appeared in court, have inspired change nationwide ...

What is your list we should not be distracted from? Start with most important on a list of 5.

Click to expand...

1. Reparations is not just about money, but it should include money.
2. Education and Counseling.
3. Property and Economic equality.
4. More money and assistance for Black businesses.
5. Really fight racism and discrimination.

The flag does not impact any of these things.

During President Obama's terms;

LGBTQIs get marriage
Illegal immigrants get education and a path to citizenship
Black people get a da&$ Flag removed.

Personally that is bull$&@+. Don't believe that this is about people coming together to get over racism. We do not benefit by having that flag removed.

They just did not want us RIOT. MANY OTHER BLACK CHURCHES HAD BEEN BURNED DOWN SINCE. WE HEAR NOTHING ABOUT THAT AND WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING ABOUT IT.

Removing the flag did not stop that. Removing the flag is not giving us anything on that list.

1. Reparations is not just about money, but it should include money.
2. Education and Counseling.
3. Property and Economic equality.
4. More money and assistance for Black businesses.
5. Really fight racism and discrimination.

The flag does not impact any of these things.

During President Obama's terms;

LGBTQIs get marriage
Illegal immigrants get education and a path to citizenship
Black people get a da&$ Flag removed.

Personally that is bull$&@+. Don't believe that this is about people coming together to get over racism. We do not benefit by having that flag removed.

They just did not want us RIOT. MANY OTHER BLACK CHURCHES HAD BEEN BURNED DOWN SINCE. WE HEAR NOTHING ABOUT THAT AND WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING ABOUT IT.

Removing the flag did not stop that. Removing the flag is not giving us anything on that list.

Click to expand...

Some of us will always complain, even when we win.

"Reparations" isn't going to happen--nor should it. Time to stop pumping oxygen into a corpse on that one.

Same-sex marriage happened because it's a Constituional right for people to get married regardless of sexual orientation.
Illegal immigrants get a path to citizenship because many work for American companies, often at low wages, for years.
Black people got civil rights laws passed, and affirmative action.

The confederate flag being removed is a symbolic gesture and does indeed represent an improvement in race relations in South Carolina. Getting the flag remove was the result of cooperation by people of different races and political parties. They came together because those who wanted the flag taken down persuaded former opponents to allign with them in their cause. Those who lost the debate stepped aside and conceded to the majority. That's how it works in a democratic society.